Broomfield staff outline draft public land dedication ordinance to incent on-site open space and income-aligned housing

City and County of Broomfield planning staff on Tuesday presented a draft ordinance to update the municipal public land dedication (PLD) regulations, proposing new methods to calculate on-site dedication and cash-in-lieu obligations tied to different residential product types.

The presentation, led by Brandon Rowe, planning manager, said the draft implements recommendations from the 2024 Open Space, Parks, Recreation & Trails (OSPRT) plan and aims to balance the city’s 40% open-lands goal with incentives to produce higher-density and income-aligned housing.

Staff said the draft creates three methodologies for meeting PLD obligations: (1) market-rate residential projects (no change from the current 25% on-site requirement), (2) 100% income-aligned housing at or below 60% area median income (AMI) with reduced on-site requirements (20% for sites 10 acres or larger; 15% for sites under 10 acres), and (3) mixed-income projects that may qualify for cash-in-lieu waivers or reductions based on the share and income level of the affordable units. The current “average” cash-in-lieu rate used in staff examples is $86,000 per acre; staff proposed…